Three Indian Suppliers Win AI Data‑Centre Contracts

Sterlite Technologies, HFCL and MTAR Technologies have each reported multi‑year contracts and larger order books linked to global AI data‑centre construction. The agreements include roughly $1.1 billion in optical‑fibre supply deals and expanded supply for fuel‑cell systems used by data‑centre operators.

Sterlite in May won a contract from a US hyperscaler valued at about $1.1 billion to supply optical connectivity products for AI data centres in the United States. The company’s order book rose 67% in fiscal 2026 to ₹7,300 crore. Ankit Agarwal, managing director of Sterlite, said the agreement will support the connectivity backbone for those US data centres.

HFCL reported an order book exceeding ₹21,200 crore (about $2.5 billion) and a long‑term global optical‑fibre supply agreement valued at roughly $1.1 billion. The company told investors that exports now make up about 70–75% of its fibre optic cable shipments, primarily to the US. HFCL is expanding fibre manufacturing capacity from 28 million fibre‑kilometres to 34 million and has planned capital expenditure of around ₹700–800 crore over the next three years, including a ₹580 crore project to produce preform material in‑house.

MTAR supplies key hot box assemblies for Bloom Energy’s fuel‑cell systems, which data centres are adopting for more reliable on‑site power. Motilal Oswal’s estimates place the order inflow to MTAR at roughly ₹900–1,100 crore for each gigawatt of Bloom Energy capacity. The expansion of Oracle’s partnership with Bloom Energy to 2.8 gigawatts from 1.2 gigawatts expands the potential demand for MTAR’s assemblies; broker calculations suggest the additional capacity could translate into about ₹14–17 billion of incremental orders, equivalent to about 1.6–1.8 times MTAR’s projected fiscal 2026 revenue.

Market data show large share gains for the three companies this year: Sterlite’s stock has risen more than 500%, HFCL has gained over 145%, and MTAR has climbed around 200%. Nomura analysts noted that two‑to‑four‑year lead times for some data‑centre components have produced multi‑year backlogs and revenue visibility extending into 2027–29.

Foreign investors have withdrawn nearly $26.4 billion from Indian equities so far in 2026, and India’s weight in global emerging market indices has fallen since February. Abhay Laijawala, managing director and India chief investment officer at Lighthouse Canton, described India’s opportunity as a ‘picks‑and‑shovels’ one focused on electricity, cooling systems and data‑centre infrastructure. R. Sivakumar, chief investment officer at Axis Mutual Fund, commented: ‘We may be on the wrong end of the AI trade, but we could be on the right side of the AI capex trade.’

Analysts and market participants identify three supplier types tied to the buildout: companies providing optical connectivity and cables, firms expanding large‑scale fibre capacity and raw materials, and manufacturers of specialised power equipment such as fuel‑cell assemblies. The contracts and capital plans reported by Sterlite, HFCL and MTAR provide contract values, order‑book figures and capacity targets that extend revenue visibility for those companies over multiple years.